Painting check-in is an exciting time as you bring in the actual works and we all get to see them.
At check-in, paintings are checked to be sure that they meet the specifications from the Prospectus for frame and mat (if used.) The check-in volunteers will also review the painting image to ensure it matches the submitted image. The painting you bring to the show has to show the exact image as the one you submitted online. Nothing can be cropped. Nothing can be added.
Checking Images – Example
Compare these two images. The first is of a painting that may have been submitted to a show and juried in by a juror. This next one is an example of the same painting, matted and ready to be checked-in, but it has been matted (cropped) so that it shows a different image than what was submitted to the juror.
There is no building on the left side and much of the top of the sky has been cropped out.
Can you see the difference? There is no building on the left side and much of the top of the sky has been cropped out.
If this painting had been delivered to the painting check-in, cropped like this, it would not be allowed in the show. It has been cropped to show a different image than what was originally submitted. It’s way too easy to make this mistake!
Here are a few tips on how to guarantee that your photographed image (the one you submit) is exactly the same as your actual, matted-and-framed painting (the one you bring to check-in):
- If you’re doing your own photography, make sure that you shoot the photo straight on. If you shoot at even the slightest angle, it will throw off your image and may force you to crop the image on your computer, causing everything to be off.
- If you’re not sure you can shoot the photo straight on, have a professional photograph it for you. It’s worth the money.
- If you are matting your painting, place crop marks in all four corners of your original painting, where you want the image to be cropped. Then photograph it so it matches the crop marks. Leave the crop marks in place during the matting process and mat the painting to the crop marks.
- If matting after photographing, give the submitted image to the matter/framer and instruct them to mat it to the exact image.
- Mat your painting before photographing it. It should be photographed just to the inside edges of the mat with no mat showing.
More than anything else, we want your painting in the show! It was juried in by the juror and deserves to hang with the rest. Every juror we’ve had in the past few years, when asked about this issue with cropped images, has told us in no uncertain terms, that they expect us to disqualify any painting that is not the same as the image they saw when they juried it in. And yes, they were talking about matting the painting so that it exactly matches the submitted image that they saw.
You don’t have to shake and sweat when you bring your painting to check-in. Just make sure that your matted painting exactly matches the image of the painting that you submitted. Please, check and double check the acceptance letter and supporting documents to make sure you’ve followed the instructions.